Dec 23: Sick Day
After a family day, Mom scheduled for us to join Carlos Celdran's "If These Walls Could Talk!" tour, including Fort Santiago and San Agustin Church and Museum.
We were slowly shaking off the jet lag, so we managed to get up early enough to have breakfast at Pancake House. I enjoyed a breakfast of tocilog, which is combination of tocino (a cured meat product, often made out of pork), garlic fried rice and an egg, prepared sunny side-up. Mom warned me against eating the soft yolk and drinking coffee, but I decided to live dangerously.
After breakfast, we reached Fort Santiago early. We waited a little bit, and were surprised that there were so many people joining the tour. The tour averages to 15-25 people usually. But it turned out that it was Carlos' last tour of the year, and he couldn't bring himself to say no to everybody. So it ended up to be a little over 100 people at the end of the tour. It was a little chaotic but the tour was still fun!
Carlos Celdran is like no other tour guide you've ever experienced! His tours are thought-provoking, entertaining, upbeat, and full of drama. That microphone is no prop. He wears on his belt a tiny speaker that projects his voice to the group and sometimes the right music to put you in the mood. He also has a flip book with pictures for show-and-tell (e.g. pictures of old Manila). He'd occasionally have a Filipino flag, which he waves around so that people know where to follow. And he'd have the appropriate garb and accessories, for the era that he's talking about.
From Fort Santiago, Carlos transports the group to San Agustin Church using calesa rides. Given that this was a big group, we ended up on a overly decorated motorized train, mimicking the old tranvias. But it still didn't spare us from the heat and the fumes from the traffic on the way. I told Luis that I felt a little queasy, but I didn't think much of it.
When we got to the San Agustin Museum, I managed to sit through Carlos' talk on how the Philippines was liberated from Spain, but transferred to the Americans. When he asked us to proceed to the crypt, I felt so nauseated and sick, I steered aimlessly towards the direction of the exit. But I couldn't hold it any longer and I ended up vomiting at the museum. Thankfully, no one was around by that time, although I did have to ask a janitor to clean up my sick.
Unfortunately, my parents were nowhere near the church, since they figured we wouldn't be done by then. So Luis and I had to wait for an agonizing 45 minutes, in which he took good care of me and didn't pretend that I was some sick girl he didn't know. :)
The rest of the day was a bust! I felt sick the entire day and mostly slumped on the bed. Luis took care of me and never left my side. The poor thing even forgot to ask my parents for lunch. I suppose it was bound to happen that one of us got sick. I was thankful that it was me, instead of him. But then I learned my lesson -- always listen to Mom: don't eat the egg yolk or drink the coffee!
We were slowly shaking off the jet lag, so we managed to get up early enough to have breakfast at Pancake House. I enjoyed a breakfast of tocilog, which is combination of tocino (a cured meat product, often made out of pork), garlic fried rice and an egg, prepared sunny side-up. Mom warned me against eating the soft yolk and drinking coffee, but I decided to live dangerously.
After breakfast, we reached Fort Santiago early. We waited a little bit, and were surprised that there were so many people joining the tour. The tour averages to 15-25 people usually. But it turned out that it was Carlos' last tour of the year, and he couldn't bring himself to say no to everybody. So it ended up to be a little over 100 people at the end of the tour. It was a little chaotic but the tour was still fun!
Carlos Celdran is like no other tour guide you've ever experienced! His tours are thought-provoking, entertaining, upbeat, and full of drama. That microphone is no prop. He wears on his belt a tiny speaker that projects his voice to the group and sometimes the right music to put you in the mood. He also has a flip book with pictures for show-and-tell (e.g. pictures of old Manila). He'd occasionally have a Filipino flag, which he waves around so that people know where to follow. And he'd have the appropriate garb and accessories, for the era that he's talking about.
From Fort Santiago, Carlos transports the group to San Agustin Church using calesa rides. Given that this was a big group, we ended up on a overly decorated motorized train, mimicking the old tranvias. But it still didn't spare us from the heat and the fumes from the traffic on the way. I told Luis that I felt a little queasy, but I didn't think much of it.
When we got to the San Agustin Museum, I managed to sit through Carlos' talk on how the Philippines was liberated from Spain, but transferred to the Americans. When he asked us to proceed to the crypt, I felt so nauseated and sick, I steered aimlessly towards the direction of the exit. But I couldn't hold it any longer and I ended up vomiting at the museum. Thankfully, no one was around by that time, although I did have to ask a janitor to clean up my sick.
Unfortunately, my parents were nowhere near the church, since they figured we wouldn't be done by then. So Luis and I had to wait for an agonizing 45 minutes, in which he took good care of me and didn't pretend that I was some sick girl he didn't know. :)
The rest of the day was a bust! I felt sick the entire day and mostly slumped on the bed. Luis took care of me and never left my side. The poor thing even forgot to ask my parents for lunch. I suppose it was bound to happen that one of us got sick. I was thankful that it was me, instead of him. But then I learned my lesson -- always listen to Mom: don't eat the egg yolk or drink the coffee!
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